<p>Optical interrogation techniques are particularly well-suited for imaging tissue morphology, biological dynamics, and disease pathogenesis by providing noninvasive access to subcellular-resolution diagnostic information. State-of-the-art spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) systems provide real-time optical biopsies of in vivo tissue, and have demonstrated clinical potential, particularly for applications in ophthalmology. </p><p>Recent advances in microscopy and endoscopy have led to improved resolution and compact optical designs, beyond those of conventional imaging systems. Application of encoded and multiplexed illumination and detection schemes may allow for the development of optical tools that surpass classical imaging limitations. Furthermore, complementary technologies can be combined to create multimodal optical imaging tools with advantages over current-generation systems. </p><p>In this dissertation, the development of coherence-gated and resolution-multiplexed technologies, aimed towards applications in human vitreoretinal imaging is described. Technology development in coherence-gated systems included increasing the imaging range of SDOCT by removing the complex conjugate artifact, improving acquisition speed using a scanning spectrometer design and a two-dimensional detector array, and hardware and algorithmic implementations that facilitated imaging of Doppler flow. </p><p>Structured illumination microscopy techniques were applied for resolution enhancement, and a spectrally encoded ophthalmic imaging system was developed for en face confocal fundus imaging through a single-mode fiber. These devices were resolution-multiplexed extensions of existing ophthalmic imaging devices, such as scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (SLO), which demonstrated improved resolution and more compact optical designs as compared to their conventional counterparts.</p><p>Finally, several multimodal ophthalmic diagnostic tools were developed that combined the advantages of OCT with existing imaging devices. These included a combined SLO-OCT system and a vitreoretinal surgical microscope combined with OCT. These devices allowed for concurrent ophthalmic imaging using complementary modalities for improved visualization and clinical utility.</p> / Dissertation

In shallow water environments, sound propagation experiences multiple interactions with the surface/bottom interfaces, with hydrodynamic disturbances such as internal waves, and with tides and fronts. It is thus very difficult to make satisfactory predictions of sound propagation in shallow water. Given that many of the ocean characteristics can be modeled as stochastic processes, the statistical measure, spatial coherence, is consequently an important quantity. Spatial coherence provides valuable information for array performance predictions. However, for the case of long-range, low frequency propagation, studies of spatial coherence influenced by various environmental parameters are limited insofar as having the appropriate environmental data with which to model and interpret the results. The comprehensive Asian Seas International Experiment 2001 (ASIAEX01) examined acoustic propagation and scattering in shallow water. Environmental oceanographic data were taken simultaneously with the acoustic data. ASIAEX01 provided a unique data set which enabled separate study of the characteristics of the oceanographic features and their influence on long range sound propagation. In this thesis, the environmental descriptors considered include sediment sound speed and attenuation, background internal waves, episodic non-linear internal waves, and air-sea interface conditions. Using this environmental data, the acoustic data are analyzed to show the characteristics of spatial coherence in a shallow water waveguide. It is shown that spatial coherence can be used as an inversion parameter to extract geoacoustic information for the seabed. Environmental phenomena including internal waves and wind-generated surface waves are also studied. The spatial and temporal variations in the sound field induced by them are presented. In addition, a tank experiment is presented which simulates propagation in a shallow water waveguide over a short range. Based on the data model comparison results, the model proposed here is effective in addressing the major environmental effects on sound propagation in shallow water.

The two-noise source model for predicting jet noise claims that the radiated jet noise is composed of two distinct sources one associated with the small-scale turbulence and another associated with the large-scale turbulence. The former source is claimed to radiate noise predominantly at larger angles with respect to the downstream jet axis, whereas the large-scale turbulence radiates predominantly at the shallower angles. A key objective of this effort is to experimentally validate this model using correlation and coherence measurements. Upon the successful validation of the two-noise source model for jets exhausting from multiple nozzle geometries driven at Mach numbers ranging from subsonic to supersonic, a three-microphone signal enhancement technique is employed to separate the contribution of the small-scale turbulence from that of the large-scale turbulence in the far-field. This is the first-ever quantitative separation of the contributions of the turbulence scales in far-field jet noise measurements. Furthermore, by suitable selection of far-field microphone positions, the separation of the contribution of any internal or core noise from that of the jet-mixing noise is achieved. Using coherence-based techniques to separate the contributions of the small-scale turbulence, large-scale turbulence, and any internal or core noise from far-field exhaust noise measurements forms the backbone of this effort. In the application of coherence-based multiple-microphone signal processing techniques to separate the contributions of the small-scale turbulence, large-scale turbulence, and any internal or core noise in the far-field, research efforts focus on three techniques (1) the coherent output power spectrum using two microphones, (2) an ordinary coherence method using the three-microphone technique, and (3) the partial-coherence method using five microphones. The assumption of jet noise incoherence between correlating microphone is included in each of these methods. In light of the noise radiation mechanisms described within the framework of the two-noise source model and their spatial characteristics as experimentally determined in the far-field, the assumption of jet noise incoherence is evaluated through a series of experiments designed to study jet noise coherence across a variety of nozzle geometries and jet Mach numbers ranging from subsonic to supersonic. Guidelines for the suitable selection of far-field microphone locations are established.

<p>Begreppen coaching och empowerment har blivit mycket populära. Coaching är att hjälpa människor att lyckas. Empowerment översätts på svenska med egenmakt och maktmobilisering. Syfte med denna studie är att undersöka hur coaching kan hjälpa till att främja empowerment och därmed bidra till att öka människornas hälsa. Frågeställningar är: Vilka samband finns det mellan coaching och empowerment? Hur påverkar empowerment människornas hälsa? Kan man öka individens hälsa med coaching? Uppsatsen grundas på en litteraturstudie. I resultatet analyseras elva vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet visar att empowerment och coaching har mycket gemensamt och att båda främjar människornas hälsa. Coaching kan förbättra självförtroendet (själv-efficacy), självkänslan (self-esteem), självmanagement, coping, autonomi, empowerment, smärt- och stresshanteringen, ledarkompetensen och den emotionella intelligensen. Coaching leder till en attitydförändring som underlättar livsstilsförändringar och höjer livskvalitén. Coaching främjar människans Känsla Av SAMmanhang (KASAM) som innebär mer hanterbarhet, begriplighet och meningsfullhet i livet. Studiens slutsats är att coaching är ett sätt att göra empowerment. Diskussionen behandlar skillnaderna mellan empowerment och paternalism, emotionell intelligens och dess betydelse och hur coaching påverkar hälsan. Dessutom diskuteras sambandet mellan psyke och kropp, betydelsen av coping och hur coaching främjar ledarkompetenserna. Slutligen behandlas coaching i kontexten till empowerment och Känslan Av SAMmanhang (KASAM).</p> / <p>The concepts of coaching and empowerment have become very popular. Coaching enables people to make positive changes in their lives. The Swedish translation for empowerment is “the mobilization of power”. The aim of this study is to explore how coaching can help to promote empowerment and thereby help to increase people's health. The research investigates the following questions: What is the link between coaching and empowerment? How does empowerment improve people's health? And finally: Is it possible to increase the individual's health with coaching? The essay is based on a literature review. It analyzes the results of eleven scientific articles. The results show that empowerment and coaching have a lot in common and that both promote people's health. Coaching can improve self-confidence, self efficacy,self-esteem, self-management, coping, autonomy, empowerment, pain management, stress management, management skills and emotional intelligence. Coaching leads to a change in attitudes that facilitate lifestyle changes and improve the quality of life. Coaching encourages people sense of Coherence (SOC), which means more manageability, comprehensibility and meaningfulness in life, which leads to the conclusion that coaching is one way to do empowerment. The discussion deals with the differences between paternalism and empowerment, emotional intelligence and its importance and how coaching affects health. It discusses the relationship between mind and body; the importance of coping and how coaching promotes leadership abilities. Finally coaching is treated in the context of empowerment and the sense of coherence (SOC).</p>

<p>Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which some people have extraordinary talents despite some serious mental or physical disability. It is a syndrome with remarkable features, standing in stark contrast to a person’s overall character. The term savant, or idiot savant, describes a person who, in spite of low intelligence, has a skill in some specific narrow area. Savants can have a specific talent in, for instance, music, art, calendar calculation or foreign language but whatever the specific talent is, it is always connected to extraordinary memory. Savant syndrome seems to be also connected to autism or autistic characteristics. In this paper I aim to give a clear description of the savant syndrome and explain its connection to autism. Further, I present how specific theories try to describe the causes of savant syndrome, and connect the theories to results of empirical research in order to give an overall view of the syndrome’s appearance. I will also compare the theories and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the discoveries and progress that has been made within the area of savant syndrome research.</p>

<p>Environmental goals are commonly set to guide work towards ecological sustainability. The aim of this thesis is to develop a precise terminology for the description of goals in terms of properties that are important in their practical use as decision-guides and to illustrate how it can be used in evaluations of environmental policy.</p><p>Essay I (written together with Sven Ove Hansson) identifies a set of rationality criteria for individual goals and discusses them in relation to the typical function of goals. For a goal to perform its typical function, i.e., to guide and induce action, it must be precise, evaluable, approachable (attainable), and motivating.</p><p>Essay II argues that for a goal system to be rational it must not only satisfy the criteria identified in Essay I but should also be coherent. The coherence of a goal system is made up of the relations that hold among the goals, most notably relations of support and conflict, but possibly also relations of operationalization. A major part of the essay consists in a conceptual analysis of the three relations.</p><p>Essay III contains an investigation into the rationality of five Swedish environmental objectives through an application of the rationality criteria identified in Essays I-II. The paper draws the conclusion that the objectives are not sufficiently rational according to the suggested criteria. It also briefly points at some of the difficulties that are associated with the use of goals in environmental policy and managemen</p>

The purpose of this research was to investigate detect and monitor laser-tissue interactions at threshold and potentially sub-threshold levels of injury. High resolution imaging modalities can provide a deeper understanding of candidate biomarkers disease and injury at the molecular, cellular, and tissue-levels which can be used to identify and diagnose early stages disease and damage. In addition, multi-scale and multi-modal imaging have also been used to identify inherent biomarkers of retinal disease and injury. Monitoring tissue changes can be mapped back to biological changes at the cellular and sub-cellular level. Diseases often alter tissue on the ultra-structural level yet retinal clinical diagnosis often monitor changes in tissue at the organ level. If injury and disease is detected and diagnosed during an “early” stage of development, treatments and drug interventions may prevent further spread of the pathology. Non-invasive imaging is expected to be a valuable tool for in vivo medical research as well as for the diagnosis and management of disease. In addition to developing new imaging tools and techniques to image the retina, the identification of inherent biomarkers of disease and health using diagnostic methods are almost equally as important. Using the inherent optical properties of retinal tissue, we can non- invasively quantify differences in the absorption and reflection of light to gauge the risk for visual disability or worse yet irreversible vision loss as a result of retinal disease and chronic light exposure. The research presented with in this dissertation is three separate studies aimed at identifying light injury and potential biomarkers indicating the risk of light mediated development of disease. / text

Σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής ήταν μια πρώτη μελέτη των προβλημάτων ανάγνωσης των κωφών μαθητών Γυμνασίου. Συγκεκριμένα, στη παρούσα εργασία μελετήθηκε κατά πόσο οι κωφοί μαθητές Γυμνασίου μπορούν να διαβάσουν με προσοχή ένα κείμενο, καθώς και κατά πόσο μπορούν να κατανοήσουν το κείμενο και να συγκρατήσουν πληροφορίες από αυτό. Αναλυτικότερα, έγινε προσπάθεια να απαντηθούν τα εξής ερωτήματα: κατά πόσο μπορούν οι κωφοί μαθητές α)να διαβάσουν τόσο προσεκτικά, ώστε να καταλάβουν τη συνοχή / συνεκτικότητα ενός κειμένου και να εντοπίσουν ασαφή στοιχεία, β)να κατανοήσουν την κεντρική ιδέα ενός κειμένου και γ)να συγκρατήσουν πληροφορίες από ένα κείμενο και να απαντήσουν σε ερωτήσεις κατανόησης. Στην έρευνα έλαβαν μέρος 11 (Ν=11) κωφοί μαθητές και των τριών τάξεων του Ειδικού Γυμνασίου Κωφών και Βαρηκόων Αγίας Παρασκευής, καθώς και 23 (Ν=23) ακούοντες μαθητές της Α΄ Γυμνασίου από το Γυμνάσιο Γαλατά, οι οποίοι αποτέλεσαν την ομάδα ελέγχου. Τα αποτελέσματα της εργασίας έδειξαν ότι οι κωφοί μαθητές έχουν χαμηλότερο αναγνωστικό επίπεδο σε σύγκριση με ακούοντες μαθητές. Συγκεκριμένα, οι κωφοί μαθητές αντιμετωπίζουν σοβαρές δυσκολίες στην κατανόηση της συνοχής ενός κειμένου, στη διατύπωση της κεντρικής του ιδέας, καθώς και στη συγκράτηση πληροφοριών από το κείμενο αυτό, προκειμένου να απαντήσουν σε σχετικές ερωτήσεις κατανόησης. Ειδικότερα, η διατύπωση της κεντρικής ιδέας φαίνεται ότι δυσκολεύει ιδιαίτερα όλους τους μαθητές, κωφούς και ακούοντες, αφού και οι ακούοντες μαθητές είχαν πολύ χαμηλές επιδόσεις. Αξίζει, επίσης, να σημειωθεί ότι οι μαθητές της τελευταίας τάξης είχαν καλύτερη επίδοση από τους μαθητές των μικρότερων τάξεων, το οποίο δείχνει ότι οι κωφοί μαθητές χρειάζονται περισσότερο χρόνο και εκπαίδευση, προκειμένου να κατακτήσουν την ανάγνωση και να αρχίσουν να κατανοούν ένα κείμενο. Τέλος, τα αποτελέσματα αυτά θα πρέπει να ληφθούν υπόψη από τους εκπαιδευτικούς, προκειμένου οι τελευταίοι να δώσουν στους κωφούς μαθητές τον απαραίτητο χρόνο και εκπαίδευση για την καλύτερη δυνατή κατάκτηση της ανάγνωσης. / The purpose of this assignment was a first study of the reading problems of the deaf high school students. Namely, in the present assignment it was examined whether and to which extent the high school students can read a text carefully as well as whether they are able to comprehend the text and retain elements from it. To analyze this, there was an attempt to answer the following questions: whether the deaf students a) can read carefully so as to comprehend the cohesion and coherence of a text and pinpoint ambiguous data b) whether they can perceive the main idea of a text and c) whether they are able to retain information from a text and answer reading comprehension questions . 11 high school deaf students -of all the 3 grades of the Specialized High School For the Deaf and Hearing Impaired in Aghia Paraskevi - participated in this study as well as 23 hearing students of the first grade of the high school in Galata, who comprised the control group. The results of the study showed that the deaf students have a lower reading standard in comparison with the hearing students. Specifically, the deaf students face tremendous difficulties in comprehending the cohesion of a text in expressing the main idea as well as in retaining data from this specific text in order to respond to relevant comprehension questions .In a deeper analysis the formulation of the central idea seems to particularly complicate all the students -hearing and deaf alike- since the hearing students had a very low performance. Moreover it is worth noted that the deaf students need more time and training so as to acquire the reading skills and start comprehending the text. Finally, these specific results should be taken into consideration by the educationalists so as the latter to allow deaf students the time and training needed for the best possible acquisition of the reading skills.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging method that is considered the optical analog to ultrasound, using the technique of optical interferometry to construct two-dimensional depth-resolved images of tissue microstructure. With a resolution on the order of 10 μm and a penetration depth of 1-2 mm in highly scattering tissue, fiber optics-coupled OCT is an ideal modality for the inspection of the mouse colon with its miniaturization capabilities. In the present study, the complementary modalities laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), which offers information on the biochemical makeup of the tissue, and surface magnifying chromoendoscopy, which offers high contrast surface visualization, are combined with OCT in endoscopic imaging systems for the greater specificity and sensitivity in the differentiation between normal and neoplastic tissue, and for the visualization of biomarkers which are indicative of early events in colorectal carcinogenesis. Oblique incidence reflectometry (OIR) also offers advantages, allowing the calculation of bulk tissue optical properties for use as a diagnostic tool. The study was broken up into three specific sections. First, a dual-modality OCTLIF imaging system was designed, capable of focusing light over 325-1300 nm using a reflective distal optics design. A dual-modality fluorescence-based SMC-OCT system was then designed and constructed, capable of resolving the stained mucosal crypt structure of the in vivo mouse colon. The SMC-OCT instrument's OIR capabilities were then modeled, as a modified version of the probe was used measure tissue scattering and absorption coefficients.

Psichinę sveikatą sudaro 2 poliai: negatyvus ir pozityvus. Negatyvi psichinė sveikata yra suprantama kaip psichologinis distresas ir psichikos sutrikimai, o pozityvios psichinės sveikatos ištekliais yra laikoma vidinė darna, savigarba ir gebėjimas tinkamai įveikti stresines situacijas. Tyrimo tikslas yra išanalizuoti profesionalios karo tarnybos (PKT) karių psichinės sveiktos ir jos išteklių ypatumus. Tyrimo metu buvo siekiama patikrinti 3 hipotezes: 1) PKT kariai turintys aukštesnę vidinę darną ir aukštesnę savigarbą pasižymi mažesniu psichologiniu distresu ir mažesniu nerimastingumu.2) PKT karių psichologinį distresą ir nerimastingumą įtakoja vidinės darnos ir savigarbos stiprumas. 3) PKT karių streso įveikų naudojimas priklauso nuo vidinės darnos ir savigarbos lygio. Tyrime dalyvavo 193 profesinės karo tarnybos karių iš Vilniaus m. ir Jonavos raj. dalinių. Didžiausią dalį tiriamųjų (90,2%, t.y. 174 karių) sudarė vyrai. PKT karių psichologinis distresas buvo matuojamas taikant D. Goldberg (2001) General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28), nerimas ir nerimastingumas tirtas N.S. Endler, J.M. Edwards, R. Vitelli (1991) Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) klausimynu. Pozityvi PKT karių psichinė sveikata tirta naudojant A. Antonovsky (1995) vidinės darnos trumpą klausimyno variantą ir M. Rosenberg (1965) savigarbos klausimyną. PKT karių taikomų streso įveikų stilių ypatumai matuojami naudojant Ž. Grakausko ir G. Valicko (2006) lietuvišką streso įveikų vertinimo metodiką... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The mental health combines two poles: negative and positive. Negative mental health is understood as psychological distress and mental disorder while positive mental health is sense of coherence, self-esteem and ability to cope with stressful situations. The purpose of this study is to analyze the mental health and its issues of military personnel. Three hypotheses are discussed: 1) Military personnel having better sense of coherence and more self-esteem show less psychological distress and are less trait anxiety. 2) Psychological distress and trait anxiety are impacted by the strength of sense of coherence and the strength of self-esteem of military personnel. 3) The way how military personnel use stress coping manners depends both on sense of coherence and self-esteem. 193 soldiers from Vilnius and the region Jonava were tested. Most of them were male (90,2%, it means 174 soldiers). The distress of military personnel was tested using D. Goldberg‘s (2001) The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28), state anxiety and trait anxiety with N.S. Endler‘s, J.M. Edward‘s, R. Vitelli‘s (1991) Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) questionnaire. The positive mental health was investigated using the short form of the sense of coherence questionnaire created by A. Antonovsky (1995) and the questionnaire of self-esteem composed by M. Rosenberg (1965). The Lithuanian version of the test created by Ž. Grakauskas and G. Valickas (2006) was used to measure the styles of stress coping... [to full text]